The home improvement industry has seen significant growth in the last decade and is projected to continue to grow in the future. For example, in a Jan. 14, 2011 report from Harvard University on the home improvement industry it is estimated that in 2005 alone, consumers spent over a quarter of a trillion dollars on home improvement projects, and that this number has been growing at a rate of about 7% per year. As a result, manufacturers and retailers spend significant effort in trying to differentiate their products from the competition.
One commonly undertaken home improvement project involves adding fences, railings, outdoor-rooms and similar barrier structures (e.g., outdoor kitchens) to homes and landscaping. Railings and fences are often added for aesthetic and practical reasons, such as to add interest to landscaping or to provide a privacy barrier and block weather elements, such as wind. In other applications, railings and fences may be practical or mandatory. For example, a raised deck (i.e., above two feet off of the ground) will require railings to comply with higher standard building safety codes. Some codes require at least 200 lb lateral load. Composite decking is commonly used as deck flowing or railings, but is not rigid enough to meet the code requirement if the railings has a longer height.
Standard deck railings and fences are typically constructed using a series of posts anchored to the ground as structural supports, decking or flooring structures and the outer walls of permanent building structures (also used as structural supports). The posts are connected via generally rectangular planar sections that provide a containment function, such as preventing the passage of people or animals, and “view blockage” from different perspectives. In many fencing and railing systems, these sections are formed by top and bottom vertical railings that are tied together by a plurality of vertical members (sometimes referred to as balusters) which form open sections in a deck railing or fence barrier. In other arrangements, the top and bottom railings are tied together (or integral with) a solid sheet of material, such as mesh, glass, metal, wood, composites, or lattice configurations. Sections that form a permanent containment barrier structure are only offered in two standard modes, open and solid sections. In modes offering open sections, there is a multitude of secondary add-on privacy screening available. In addition, there are advantages and disadvantages associated with solid fencing/railing sections and open sections that use balusters. For example, the solid sections can block wind and prevent the passage of very small items and can offer privacy from neighbors or onlookers looking in from an outside perspective of the containment barrier structure. However, blocking the view of what is on the outer side or the inner side of a barrier fence or railing can sometimes be a disadvantage. An open section provides a view through the railing, with the resulting loss of privacy. Oftentimes, a user may desire the privacy of a solid section during some conditions and also, under other conditions, desire the outward-looking view provided by open sections. Thus, there is a need for a fence or railing that selectably offers consumers the convenience of combining both open and solid closed barrier sections and that offers the advantages of personal preferences to convert between these structure sections depending on current use conditions and that will also meet various safety code standards (e.g., International Code Council (ICC), American Fence Association, and U.S. Department of Labor and Industry Construction Codes and Licensing Division standards) such as providing 200 pounds of lateral pressure. It is with respect to these considerations and others that the various embodiments of the present invention have been made.